Google Africa and the Umbono program is excited to announce a new partnership with tech incubator 88mph in Cape Town. The 88mph accelerator program originally launched in Nairobi, and will now be available to entrepreneurs in South Africa. 88mph offers selected start-ups funding, mentorship, and visibility. Google will support this start-up community with mentoring, speaker programs, and workshops. Why is Umbono making these changes?Our goal was always to help kick-start the South African start-up community and bring the pieces of the ecosystem together. We’ve achieved that and the start-up community (“Silicon Cape”) has proven to be filled with talent, and more active investors are now involved. Our new partnership will provide even more resources to entrepreneurs in South Africa. Google for Entrepreneurs is supporting tech accelerators and hubs across Africa, and the new program to support 88mph in Cape Town is an exciting addition. The partnership is similar to Google’s other global entrepreneurship support efforts such as Eleven (Bulgaria) and Le Camping (Paris). Success StoriesThe Umbono program brought together a community of talent and angel investors, and helped seven startups get their feet off the ground; many of our teams have won international competitions and already received follow-on investments. We will continue to build on their great momentum to help grow the wider tech entrepreneurial ecosystem in Southern Africa.

What happens next?

Startups in Cape Town can now apply to be accepted into the 88mph program - so if you know of any early-stage tech startups in the region, let them know ! More information